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CONSTANT asmlm Preserving Wood.v

No. 65,545. Patented June I], 1867.

AM. FHT0-L!THO.CO.N.Y. (OSBDRNE'S PROCESS.)

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SILAS CONSTANT, OF PEEKSKILL, AND JOHN SMITH, OF BROOKLYN,

NEW YORK.

Letters Patent No. 65,545, dated June 11, 1867; antcdatecl lllarclt 17, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN SBASONING AND PRESERVING WOOD.

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Be it known that we, SILAS CONSTANT, of Peckskill, in the county of Westchester, and State of New York, and JOHN SMITH, of the city of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, and State aforesaid, have invented a new and useful Improvement in an Apparatus and a Method of Seasoning andPr-eserving Wood; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, and the letters of reference marked thereon.

Wood, while it is one of the most useful and valuable articles in the arts, loses much of its value from the well-known fact that it is liable to decay and to be destroyed by the attacks of insects, worms, and other destructive agencies, as soon as it is checked in its growth or separated from the source which supplies it with nourishment, and unless prevented by the application of protecting agents of some kind will in a limited period'of time become useless for many of the purposes for which in its sound condition it is so useful. Many attempts have been made to obtain or overcome these defects, but with indifferent or only partial success. To remedy these defects, and provide a more successful treatment of wood, so as to more efi'ectually protect it from decay and destruction, is therefore the object of our invention, which consists, firstly, in expelling as far as practicable all the moisture or watery substance; and, secondly, in filling the pores and fibres, and surrounding the outer surface with preserving agents, which will exclude air and water and defend it against the ravages of insects, worms, and other destroying agencies.

To enable others skilled in the arts to practise our invention, we will procccd to describe, first, the apparatus employed, which is fully shown and set forth in the annexed drawings, forming a part of this specification; and, second, the operation of obtaining the products of wood tar, or its chemical equivalent, and filling the pores and fibres of the wood with it.

Figure 1 represents .a perspective view of the whole; and

Figure 2, an end view of the furnace and generator- Similarlettcrs being used to designate similar parts in both figures The apparatus consists of a. chamber A, which is constructed of iron, or other suitable metal, which will retain the heat and smoky vapor and resist the required pressure. 13 is a door to the chamber. C is a furnace for the purpose of applying heat to the generator D and reservoir E, and may be constructed of brick, iron, or

. any other suitable metal. D is a hollow generator, constructed of a metal which will bear sufficient application of heat to its outer surfaceto heat the air and materials in and passing through its interior to the required temperature. E is a reservoirin which to prepare the materials to be used inthe process. F is a cock to the reservoir. G, a siphon, or crooked pipe, to conduct the materials to the interior of the generator. H is a pipe through which air is to be forced into and through thegenerator. I, a pipe, through which the heated air and smoky vapor pass from the generator into the chamber. K, an opening or pipe in the upper part of the chamber for the escape of the moisture or lighter vapors and to relieve the chamber from undue pressure. L, a ,pipe at the bottomof the chamber to draw off any matters which condense during the process, and acap to gencrater D to assist in holding it in its position in the furnace. Wood prepared for treatment should be clean, free from bark, and reduced to the form required for the purpose to which it is to be applied, and should be placed in the chamber A with sulficient space between each layer to allow the smoky vapor hereinafter mentloned to come in full contact with every part of each piece, which is readily accomplished by placing strips of wood on, the floor or bottom of the chamber at convenient distances apart for the first layer, and placing similar strips between each succeeding layer, until the chamber is filled or the desired quantity placed therein. When the chamber is filled, or the desired quantity of wood is properly placed therein, the door B, which must be so constructed as to admit of its being hermetically closed, must be shut and securely fastened. The reser-' voir E having been supplied with the desired quantity of wood tar, or its chemical equivalent, and the furnace C with fuel, fire is to be lighted in the furnace under the generator D, which heats it to the required tempera t'ure, and also'heats the reservoir E suln'ciently to expel the watery and lighter matters of the tar. Air is then forced in and through the heated generator through pipe H bymea-ns of bellows, or other suitable device, which drives the heated air from the generator through he connecting pipe I into the Wood-chamber A, the heat slowly increasing, care being taken not to raise the temperature too high, say not above 120 Fahrenheit scale, until the wood becomes heated through, when the heat shoul' be increased to from 225 to 250, allowing in the mean time the steam or vapor arising from the expulsion of themoisture from the wood to escape through pipe K. When the steam or vapor ceases to escape through this pipe the first part of the process is completed. Having thus removed the moisture from the wood, we increase the fire under the generator until it is nearly at a red heat, and the tar in the reservoir E, having been deprived of its Watery and light matters, is allowed to run into the generator through the cock F and siphon G, and is there by the heat converted into a smoky vapor, which, by the action of the air-blast from the blowers or bellows through the pipe II, is driven into the chamber A, wherea sufiicient quantity is kept in that state until it permeates the wood, filling its pores and fibres and surrounding the outer surface with the creoso'teous and other products into which the tar is converted by the process, rendering the whole substantially impervious to water and the deleterious efl'eets of the atmosphere, and protecting it against the attack of insects, worms, and other destroying agents. Pipe K, which is constructed with a small aperture, should be left open during the whole operation, to relieve the chamber of undue pressure, and to allow the vapor or steam to escape, and also to permit any of the lighter properties of the product of the tar (if any) remaining to pass oil. OF course it will require experience to determine how long the processis to be continued on each lot of wood, depending in a great measure on the size, kind, and quality, some requiring longer treatment than others, the object in view being to expel the moisture and to fill the pores and fibres and cover the outer surfaces to the fullest extent practicable. After the wood has been sufficiently treated it is removed from the chamber and exposed to the atmosphere for a short time, when it is ready for use.

What we claim as'our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Chamber A, generator D, incomhination with blowers, bellows, or other suitable device, to drive the heated air and smoky vapor out of the generator into the chamber, the connectingpipes H and I and escape pipe K,

all arranged and applied substantially as and for the purposes specified.

SILAS CONSTANT, JOHN SMITH.

Witnesses PETER VAN ANTWERP, THOMAS VAN ANIWEBP. 

